Report: Proposed CBA Could Put a Cap on International Games During a 17-Game Season
Whenever the NFL's owners and players union agree to a new collective bargaining agreement, all 32 teams will be impacted considerably. The Jacksonville Jaguars could potentially be impacted more than many teams, however, if a report about a potential cap on international games from NFL Network's Mike Garafolo holds true.
A potential cap on the total number of international games would come in play if the NFL went to a 17-game regular season format, which the league's owners have reportedly been pushing hard for in CBA talks. In this format, teams would play eight home games one year and nine the next, and the 17th game wouldn't be an international game for every team, Garafolo reported.
A cap on international games would obviously impact the Jaguars due to the team's involvement in the NFL's international series in London. The NFL has hosted games in London since 2007, but no team has had as much of a prescence in London games as the Jaguars have had.
Jacksonville has played a game in London every year since 2013, playing overseas seven times and going 3-4 in the process. Only one other team has played more than three games in London since 2007 (Miami Dolphins), so the Jaguars' frequency of overseas games is unprecedented, making them a focus of any changes to international games.
The Jaguars took this even a step further earlier this month when the team announced they would host two of the club's eight home games at Wembley Stadium in London, making Jacksonville the first NFL team to ever have two home games scheduled outside of the United States in one season. They would also be the first team to ever play two games in London in the same season in general.
The Jaguars' option to play two London games is currently only a plan for 2020, and it remains to be seen how a new cap on international games could potentially affect the Jaguars' vice grip on London games.
Jacksonville's deal with the league office to play an annual home game in London expires after the 2020 season anyways, and there has yet to be movement on an extension of the deal or a new agreement between the NFL and the Jaguars.
"It is not 100 percent within our control, but we have expressed our interest in continuing the arrangement with London," team president Mark Lamping said on Feb. 4, when the Jaguars announced a second home game in London.
"Whether that’s one game or two games, that remains to be seen. And we believe that London is of particular importance to us and growing importance to us as we go through the transition over the next several years where Lot J goes from just a vision to a reality.”
If the new CBA is approved by the NFL Players Association, a cap on international games could potentially play a role in the Jaguars' prescence overseas, though it remains to be seen what the impact could be. The cap could always mean just a few London games a year, with the Jaguars still playing annually or even playing multiple games.
But regardless of the impact, any set language on international games will have to be monitored closely by the Jaguars' brass.
The league's owners approved this proposed CBA on Thursday, though it wasn't a unanimous vote. Players and their representatives still have to vote on the proposed agreement. The league's current CBA expires after the 2020 season.
